Misery has company in Detroit
DETROIT — The winless Detroit Lions (0-9-1) will kick off the NFL’s schedule of games on Thanksgiving as usual and their guests have plenty of problems of their own for a change.
The Chicago Bears (3-7) have lost five straight and they might also lose their coach this week.
Less than 48 hours before kickoff at Ford Field, embattled Matt Nagy was peppered with questions at a news conference about a report that he has been told he will no longer coach the Bears after the game on Thursday.
The Patch.com story about the firing was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Konkol, a former news reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, and it did not indicate a source.
Nagy said the report is not accurate.
“I understand how the media world goes, I get it,” he said. “But at the same point in time, if I get to a point where it distracts me from being the best leader I can be to this team, I’m not going to let that happen”
If Chicago only played Detroit, Nagy would have as much stability as any coach in sports. He is 6-1 against the lowly Lions and one game under .500 against the rest of the NFL.
Nagy is 31-27 and 0-2 in the playoffs over four years, a mark boosted by winning 12 games in his debut season. Bears fans clearly sound fed up with him, chanting “Fire Na-gy!” last week as the team lost a lead in the last 30 seconds for the second straight week.
Bears safety Tashaun Gipson insisted players have not quit on Nagy.
“I’ve had six losing seasons out of my 10 years, seven maybe,” Gipson said. “So obviously I know what losing feels like. I know what a losing locker room is like, and this is not that.”